AC: Hello Kiddies~ c: Sorry for not posting much! I've been busy with... err... stuff.~ I hope this will make up for it! Naoto x Rise from Persona 4 c: SO... ENJOY.-
Please excuse the grammar fails in there... if any? QuQ

Now, enjoy~

"It's not fair..." Rise stopped dead on her tracks. For some reason, no one was around the northern shopping district. But it didn't matter, Rise didn't care. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her legs collapsed, resulting her to fall on the cement ground. There was a moment of silence, other than the sobs and hics that came from her. She didn't know why she cried, or why she felt so uneasy. But it got the best of her and she just cried helplessly on the ground. Was it because she was lonely? Because she wanted a boyfriend?

"...Kujikawa-san."

A somewhat deep voice called out, the shadow hovered the idol's body. Rise looked up, realizing it was another one of those stupid detectives, trying to leech itself onto her back to suck life out of her. The boy seemed to be about her own age. He wore a gothic dark blue sweater and dark blue shirt with a lines all around, with a blue cap to top off his so-called 'style.' I sniffled and stood, "What do you want?" She grumbled, her voice hoarse from all the crying. The boy silently stared for a few minutes, but soon he replied, "...I would like to discuss a matter with you. Perhaps we could talk somewhere more... private?"

"...Sure." The brown haired female sighed before walking over to the Marukyu Tofu Shop. She took her shoes off as she entered the back of the shop, showing the living room of her grandmother's home. "Grandma, uhmm-"

"Naoto."

"Naoto-kun stopped by to interview me." She resumed her sentence thanks to Naoto's short introduction.

"Naoto-kun? Oh~ Naoto-kun, hello.~" Grandma greeted him as she passed by. Naoto made a small smile and nodded as a greeting, "Greetings." She said. Rise blinked, but paid it no mind. The two headed over to the idol's room, and she closed the door behind them. "I reckon you want me out quickly, so I'll make get to the point."

"Please."

"There has been a case that your manager, Inoue-san, had been hanged upside down on a pole, dead. There was no physical..." Naoto continued to speak, but Rise could not hear. Inoue?...Gone? her eyes widened at the news. She hadn't came back to the showbiz stuff, but this should've been told to her at LEAST! Who would kill Inoue?- Or rather, be hanged upside down on a POLE? It's impossible!

"...and we suspected you knew something about this." Naoto ended his explanation. The former idol stared in awe, "...You're only asking if I know anything about this?- I just found out. No one told me."

"...Well, then, I'd like to ask more questions... I overheard the sophomores, our upperclassmen, talk something about people being hanged upside down, the Midnight Channel, and they said the next target will be you. do you know anything about the Midnight Channel?"

Rise flinched, unsure of what to speak from there. "...Midnight Channel? No. I don't. If you want to know, why don't you ask those kids?" She frowned, unhappy with knowing that she's the so-called 'next target'. This isn't hunting season. She heard the blue haired male sigh. "...One last question... I had tried to watch the Midnight Channel... And when the TV opened, it showed a figure of you in a sparkling yellow bikini. Have you worn such bikini?- Or rather, have you been a host of a TV show in relation to the Midnight Channel?"

"Shut up!" Rise blurted out, rubbing her temples. This was all too much for her, she fell back on her bed and sighed. "...Look, I don't have a pink-"

"Yellow."

"YELLOW, sparkling bikini. And I haven't been aired in a show since I quit showbiz. I don't know the Midnight Channel. I don't know those sophomores, and I didn't know anything about Inoue-san's death! So leave me alone!"

"...Certainly. This concludes our interview. I will see you at school, Kujikawa-san." Naoto made a small nod before leaving the room, leaving Rise. When the door finally closed, the brown eyes of the girl started to swell up liquid, forming into tears that slide down her face. "Why won't anyone leave me alone...?" she whimpered and curled herself against the wall... and on the other side, had Naoto's hand pressed against the door, his head against it and looked down.

"...Still the same, Rise-san... Be careful." He pulled himself away and walked down, saying goodbye to Rise's grandmother with a smile. He handed over a letter and smiled. "...Tell her it's from an old friend."

The next day, just like any day, Rise woke up early to get ready- but stopped when something caught her eye. It was a letter. She smiled, remembering who it was from. It was an old friend of hers, who she remembered as Shiro-chan. The girl took it and opened it, reading the letter aloud.

Kuji-chan!

It's been so long since I've written a letter to you. I know things have been crazy with the showbiz stuff, but I really hope you're doing well in Inaba. I've been great so far, still the same, "smartass" that you remember... So, umm... I also heard that this Naoto guy was going to see you. How was he? I talked to him once, he was pretty straightforward, and very intelligent... And, I told him that you're in Inaba, like he is. Try to get along with him, okay? I hope to see you again, Kuji-chan... I miss you.

Sincerely,
Shiro-chan

PS: I got a new phone. Text me, okay? it's 011-81-90 4828 4481.

Rise laughed halfway, until she read about Naoto. Naoto... Naoto. Blah.- But the ending was good... so good she held the paper close to her with a huge smile. But, she has to get ready or she'll be late. The brown haired girl ran to the bathroom to shower.

Several days past, and it was sometime after Rise was saved by that Investigation Team. Rise asked to join, and of course they said yes. When the girl went home to the tofu shop, she saw the same dark haired male. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Are you creeping on me or what?" the idol asked. Naoto frowned, "Your assumption is incorrect. I am here to ask you about your disappearance." She said before going into the living room.

"B-but..." She sighed and rubbed her temples once again. This is a pain in her ass. She quickly flipped her phone open, reading a text from Shiro-chan. She smiled at it. "...I want to see you too." She mumbled, and replied (in a very informal way... texting and shortcuts are horrible.) She giggled and walked over to the living room. "Grandma, I wanna find Shiro-chan." She announced as she sat down at the living room. The girl noticed that the boy flinched.

"...You do know Shiro-chan, right?"

"...I do. She told me that you're very pretty... And of course, I knew you through work." Naoto said before sitting across from her. Rise blushed, and giggled, "That's Shiro-chan for you." She nodded. The male sighed and blinked when a cup of green tea was set on the coffee table. He bowed his head before taking a sip. "...Kujikawa-san, what is this... 'Shiro-chan' like? I've encountered her, yes, but I feel you know her a lot."

"I'm not telling you about Shiro-chan. Do you like her or something?"

Naoto's reply was a chuckle. "...No. That's a little weird."

"...Why would it be weird?" Rise asked, raising a brow.- But Naoto only shook his head.

"...Nothing."

"Hey, did you hear?" Chie poked Rise as they both walked home during the night time. The idol blinked before looking at her senpai, "Naoto is next in the midnight channel. It showed something about 'body-altering operation'... and something about a girl who she called an imbecile
and blind."

"Ehh... well, we should go train then... it might be bad.-" She stopped when she saw Naoto step out of the Marukyu Tofu Shop. The male flinched upon seeing them and quickly began to walk home, holding his cap low... Rise quickly followed and crossed the street, but little did she know... a car began to drive by, over the speed limit.

Naoto saw this and flinched. "KUJIKAWA-SAN!" she yelled and ran for her, pushing her out of the way-

Blackness.

To Be Continued...